Filtration II

This presentation will highlight how water-based coating systems using nano?sized particles can  impart permanent electrostatic properties to the filter via a patent applied technology. By this manner, the resulting small particle (< 0.3um) efficiencies is improved with out compromising the pressure drop across the filter.  Application techniques and the results achieved will be reviewed from lab stage development through industrial field tests.  Easy-to-clean effect, antimicrobial, antifungal as well as the antistatic properties of these water-based systems will be assessed.

The internal structure of a nonwoven fibrous material is very important in determining its physical and mechanical behaviors. One of the ways to characterize this structure relates to how fibers are packed inside of this structure. And we observe the way fibers are packed in one place need not be necessarily the same as the way fibers are packed in other places of the same structure. In this research project, a novel system for evaluation of this spatial variation in nonwoven structures is developed and how this variation affects filtration behavior of nonwovens is found out.

Additives and Biodiesel in Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel dramatically change the emulsification properties of the fuel, leading to profound increases in water stability and failures of standard hydrophobic fuel-water separation media. The primary means of qualifying filtration products for fuel-water emulsion separation applications in the United States involves performance in the SAE J1488 Emulsified Water/Fuel Separation Test. Results in the SAE J1488 are strongly influenced by the emulsification properties of the test fuel; however, the test lacks a specification for this property. A turbidity and time dependent turbidity decay method for characterization of emulsification properties of fuels was developed. Fuel emulsification properties drive performance of media used for fuel-water separation. Demonstration of water behavior in fuel at operation temperatures are discussed relative to engine metallurgy. Results are discussed in terms of fuel-water emulsion stability, Mie Theory for light scattering, and surfactant adsorption.

There have been ongoing, industry-wide discussions on electrostatic technology vs. pure mechanical filtration.  While static charge has been widely utilized over several decades in many filter products such as facial masks, HVAC/HEPA/ULPA filters, cartridge filters and dust removals, etc., debates still continue in both academia and industry on how to standardize a test method to define the real world performance of a filter. Unfortunately there is no one-solution-fit-all method; no consensus could be reached on whether either mechanical or electret filters should be used regardless of the applications. The ASHRAE 52.2 committee convened during the recent ASHRAE Meeting in New York City (Jan.19-23, 2008), and a resolution was approved to use KCl conditioning as an informational and optional method supplemented in Addendum J. This method will be discussed and experimental data will be shared in this presentation using different filters or filter media.